Cowgirls Can Fly, under jockey champion jockey Francisco Calderon, posted the fastest time from 11 trials contested on Night 1 for the $854,775 Remington Park Futurity.

© Dustin Orona Photography

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—APRIL 11, 2024–The first night of trials for the restricted Grade 1 $854,775 Remington Park Futurity found the top qualifiers in the first five races of the evening.

Those races also happened to be the only heats of the night that enjoyed an advantage from a northerly tailwind.

The Thursday card started with a 15mph wind from the northwest, providing a nice tailwind. The wind continued to calm with every trial of the evening until it was gone by the sixth trial.

Trainer Leonardo Alcala had the good fortune of 2-year-olds on go from his barn and the early wind, placing two into the April 27 final.

Cowgirls Can Fly was the top qualifier of the evening, winning the second trial of the night with a 12mph tailwind. Leaving the starting gate from the outside post-position in the field of eight, the filly by leading second-crop sire Flying Cowboy 123 from the Check Him Out mare Check Out This Queen, handled the 330 yards in :16.614.

The effort over the fast track earned a Speed Index of 95. Francisco Calderon was up for the score.

Owned by Marisol Alvarado of Jones, Okla., Cowgirls Can Fly was bred in Oklahoma by Pine Ridge Farm and was sold at the 2023 Heritage Place September Yearling Sale for $33,000.

Alcala also saddled Coronita KO to victory in the fifth trial, right before the tailwind disappeared. A filly by Corona Cartel from the Apollitical Jess mare, As and Js, is also bred and owned by Alcala. Coronita KO crossed the finish in :16.763 for a speed index of 91, to post the third fastest time. Edwin Escobedo was up for the trial win.

Broodmare As And Js was a champion and multiple stakes winner at Remington Park, earning $531,134 during her career which included a triumph in the Grade 1 Junos Request Stakes here in 2019.

My Fancy Corona broke sharply under jockey Javier Hernandez-Gallardo in the third trial then set sail to win by three-quarters while posting the second-fastest clocking of :16.737 seconds with a 15 mph tailwind, a 91-speed index for owner Dee Gragg.

My Fancy Corona is a son of leading third-crop sire Kvn Corona out of a Pyc Paint Your Wagon mare who is a sister to graded stakes winners Pyc Fun N Fancy, Im A Fancy Pyc, First Fancy Prize, and Fast N Fancy. The second dam is former Broodmare of the Year First Prize Fancy, a sister to First Down Dash. Michelle Hurdle conditions the bay gelding from AQHA leading breeder Weetona Stanley.

Apocalyptical Moon, under champion jockey Francisco Calderon, kicked off the night in the opening trial to break his maiden by 1-1-3/4 lengths at first asking while setting the fourth fastest time of :16.782, a 90-speed index with a 17mph tailwind.

The $50,000 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale graduate by leading sire Apollitical Jess, from the RG3-placed First Moonflash mare My Moon Crest, races for owner Victor Lozano is trained by James Gonzales, III. Bred by Bill T. Robbins, this is the family of three-time champion All-American Futurity winner Apocalyptical Jess.

Iteas Jessy, a $75,000 Heritage Place September repurchase for owner-breeder William E. Smith, drafted to fastest qualifier Cowgirls Can Fly in trial 2 to get the fifth qualifying spot with a :16.614 clocking, an 88-speed index with a 17 mph tailwind. Trainer Guillermo Valdivia started the filly off a third-place maiden effort in her debut on March 23.

Iteas Jessy dam is Grade 2-placed Itea, by Corona Cartel. She is the dam of six black type. The second dam, First Carolina, won the Heritage Place Futurity(G1) and produced Rainbow Futurity(G1) winner Ms First Prize Rose and Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Futurity winner Coronado Cartel.

The only non-winner to qualify on Thursday, Iteas Jessy had to sit on the fifth-position qualifying bubble for the final six trials of the night, holding on for the final.

For a list of Night 1 Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Futurity qualifiers with times, sires, dams, owners, breeders, and jockeys CLICK HERE.

The second five fastest qualifiers from each night of trials are preferred invites to the $ 100,000 guaranteed Remington Park Juvenile. CLICK HERE for a list of those horses. 

Another 11 trial heats will be held Friday night, April 12, to qualify five more for the Remington Park Futurity. The first race is at 6pm-Central.

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Remington Park has provided more than $345 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. The 2024 racing schedule begins Thursday, March 7, as the American Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa Season starts its 50-date season. Parking and admission are always free. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.